


Misread

by whoneedsapublisher



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Older Nozomi and Nico, Tarot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 22:25:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11322948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoneedsapublisher/pseuds/whoneedsapublisher
Summary: Nico suspects that Nozomi knows she's in love with her and is trying to get her to confess. Not content to be manipulated, Nico hatches a plan to catch Nozomi in the act.





	Misread

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to rankarana for betaing

This was it. The final showdown. The culmination of a long and hard fought battle. In fact, you might even say it was ultimate battle between good and evil. Good, of course, embodied in Nico Yazawa.

Nico stared at her opponent and kept her features blank. A single movement, one errant twitch, and she could be doomed. She couldn’t give away anything.

Her opponent reached out, and Nico tensed. This was it. The final clash. All or nothing.

Gripping her prize, Nozomi pulled her hand away…

Leaving Nico holding the old maid.

“Auuugh!” Nico threw the card to floor in disgust, crossing her arms as Nozomi smiled sweetly at her.

“Thinking you could beat me when cards was involved was just foolish, Niccochi.” she said, laying down her last two cards in front of her, completing her last pair.

“Oh shut up, it was close.” Nico grumbled. Like Nozomi’s stupid fortune telling was a major contributor to her absurd luck. That’s what it had to be, there’s no way she could have read Nico’s perfect poker face.

“The old maid was in the middle that last time I took a card, wasn’t it?” Nico twitched. A lesser woman might accuse Nozomi of cheating with her spiritual powers, but Nico was a woman of principals, and she refused to reverse her stance over one lost card game.

“Hmph. Like I’d remember something like that. Don’t get cocky just because you got lucky in the 50/50.” Nico said airily, waving off Nozomi’s question. “Let’s just move on to making dinner, if you’re done gloating.” Nico started to stand up when a hand shot out and grasped her wrist.

“Dinner? Oh? Niccochi, you didn’t happen to forget about what bet we made before starting, did you?” Nozomi’s smile was friendly, but her grip was iron. Damnit.

Nico covered her mouth with her other hand and laughed fakely. “Did you take that seriously? Jeez, Nozomi, you can be such a kid sometimes! It was just a joke, a joke! You’re so silly.”

“Niccochi.” Nico froze mid laugh at the near palpable menace coming from Nozomi as her grip subtly tightened until it was just short of painful. “You do know what happens to people who go back on bets, don’t you?”

Nico did not, and she was very sure she didn’t want to find out.

“...Ahaha. Oh, you, uh, meant that bet. I thought you were talking about something else. Ahaha.”

“Ahaha.” Nozomi replied sweetly, no real mirth in her voice.

Nico sighed and flopped down in her seat, slumping in the chair with the hand Nozomi had still not released laid out on the table. “Fine, you win. Let’s get this over with.”

Nozomi’s smile shifted imperceptibly from “dangerous”  back to genuine. “Oh, I’ll need a little time to get prepared. You can get started on dinner if you want.” she let go of Nico’s wrist, and Nico pulled her arm against her chest.

“Oh, thanks. How generous of you to let me cook for you.” Nico said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You brute.” she muttered under her breath, massaging her wrist as she walked towards the kitchen, leaving Nozomi pulling a deck out of her bag and beginning to shuffle it.

Once she was safely into the kitchen, Nico surreptitiously glanced over at Nozomi while starting to get out ingredients. Nozomi’s attention seemed completely focused on her cards, dealing them out into seemingly random piles. Reassured that she wasn’t looking, Nico allowed herself a small smirk.

Phase one: successful.

* * *

 

It had been about a  week ago when Nico was first faced with an issue. She wanted Nozomi to give her a tarot reading.

On the surface, it seemed like an easy problem to fix. Nozomi was eager to give them out to people, and had certainly offered to give Nico a reading plenty of times. So why not just ask, or wait for Nozomi to ask again?

The problem was Nico’s second goal: not to arouse suspicion.

Nico had refused her offers for years. The last time she’d even let her do single card readings was all the way back in highschool. If, all of a sudden, she reversed her position and _asked_ for a reading, or even begrudgingly accepted one, it would stick out like a sore thumb. Nozomi would be on guard, and Nico’s plan wouldn’t work at all.

Nozomi was trying to pull something, and Nozomi was an excellent tactician. Nozomi had a way of forcing Nico into a corner if she caught her off guard, and Nico could only outplay her on defense for so long without trying to push back.

That alone wouldn’t be enough to resort to such drastic measures. The problem was that Nico suspected she knew what Nozomi was trying to do, and if she was right she _definitely_ needed to confirm it and plan her attack, because it seemed an awful lot like Nozomi was trying to get Nico to admit to being in love with her.

When the realization had first hit, Nico had almost panicked. Nozomi had been weirdly handsy all day, casually brushing Nico’s hand when she was reaching for something or leaning against her on the couch. Nico had been suspicious, but the pieces hadn’t clicked into place until she saw a magazine Nozomi had left lying around… turned to a page on skinship.

It had taken all of Nico’s acting talent to not display any reaction to the article and continue on, aware of Nozomi’s eyes on her. With anyone else, she would have considered it a coincidence, but she’d seen Nozomi work time after time, and lived with her since they got into the same college. This was exactly the sort of thing Nozomi would do to apply pressure.

How had she found out? What had given Nico away? And if Nozomi knew, why was she just playing games? How did she feel about it?

Once she was safely back in her room and racking her brains, however, a more likely possibility arose: Nozomi _didn’t_ know, but she suspected, and she was playing these games to try and force Nico to confess.

Nico refused to be played. But no matter what she tried, she couldn’t get Nozomi to show anything heavy handed enough to confront her over. So, quickly getting desperate as hiding her feelings got harder and harder, she turned to her hidden weapon, a trick that Nozomi would never expect: using Nozomi’s fortune telling against her.

It wasn’t something Nico had noticed at first, but as she saw it more and more she realized something: Nozomi let down her guard when she was using her cards to spring a trap. It was a risky gambit, but letting Nozomi do a tarot reading to try and force Nico’s hand was the one moment where she’d be vulnerable, and Nico could try to turn the tables.

But that still left her with the problem of _how_ to get Nozomi to give her a reading without giving the game away. And a few days ago, she had found the key: Nozomi _always_ beat her at Old Maid.

* * *

 

Nico idly watched Nozomi shuffle her cards with a look of affected boredom. She’d waited two days for this chance to arise, but here it was: an excuse to bring up card games.

“I still don’t know why you like cards so much.” she said nonchalantly. “Even back in highschool, you used to make us play cards to settle arguments and stuff.”

Nozomi glanced up and smiled. “Oh, you mean when we used to play old maid?” She let out a wistful sigh. “Oh, μ’s were so all so bad at that game. Umi’s poker face was… not wonderful.”

Everything was going as planned.Time for Nico-chan’s perfect setup line. “Ha! There was no real competition for the amazing Nico’s flawless acting under pressure!” she said, puffing up her chest, which thankfully wasn’t as modest as it had been back then. Not that she was any competition to the ridiculously gifted other girl in the roo- distraction! Refocus!

“Oh?” Nozomi said, and the small mischievous glint in her eye was all the confirmation Nico needed. She’d taken the bait. “If your poker face is so good, then why don’t we have a game?”

“You?” Nico waved her hand in front of her face. “Oh please. Your cryptic mystic woman act might have fooled me when we were kids, but I can see right through you now!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it _is_ so. In fact, I’d be willing to bet on it!” Nico slammed her hand down on the table and grinned at Nozomi. “ _When_ I beat you, you have to do the dishes for a week.”

Nozomi pretended to ponder for a moment, but Nico already knew what she was going to say next. “Hmm? And what if I win?” Nico laughed.

“There’s no way you’ll win. In fact, I’m so sure, I’ll let you read my fortune if you win. But you won’t~” Nico said in a sing song voice.

The glint in Nozomi’s eyes wasn’t even hidden now. Bingo.

* * *

 

 _So now,_ Nico thought, as she chopped vegetables and listened to the quiet noises of cards shuffling, _all that’s left is the actual reading_.

Nico had to admit to being a little worried about that part. Who knew what weird tricks Nozomi would pull? She didn’t know much of anything about the tarot, and Nozomi knew _everything_ . But this was her best chance to catch Nozomi trying to put the pressure on and turn it around. It might even be the last one. She could see it now. _Nozomi, why are you so concerned with_ my _love life? What about yours?_

And Nozomi would be forced onto the defensive, and then if she ever tried to put pressure on Nico again, Nico could just bring that up. It was the ultimate shield against Nozomi’s aggression. All she had to do was stay cool through some card game and wait for Nozomi to overextend.

How hard could it be?

* * *

 

“Okay, Niccochi, we’re going to do a simple reading.” Nozomi was saying, while Nico picked at her food nervously. She’d finished cooking more to buy time than anything, but Nozomi wasn’t interested in waiting until after dinner to do the reading. It was just as well. Nico doubted she could have handled the suspense.

“Just three cards.” Nozomi fanned a collection of cards out with the backs facing Nico. “The first card is the past. The second card is the present. And then the third card is the future.”

Nico snorted and Nozomi gave her a look. “Fine, fine, do your reading.” Nico said. She set aside her food, resigned to not being able to eat until this was all over with.

Nozomi reshuffled the cards lightly and flicked the top of the pile out onto the table between them. It appeared to be… someone walking away from a bunch of stacked goblets?

“...what’s this one?” Nico asked, staring at it.

“That’s the eight of cups.” Nozomi said, clearly in her element. Cool as a cucumber. “When it’s in the past, it refers to change, a new direction, and dissatisfaction. A good life that feels unfulfilled, or lacking something. Like there’s something more you need. A missing piece you’re searching for, or can’t bring yourself to reach out for, or don’t know that you need.”

Tiny beads of sweat started to form on Nico’s forehead. Shit. This wasn’t blatant enough to fire back on it, but it was hitting hard. She was starting to wonder if she’d made a terrible mistake. This was Nozomi’s game, and she’d foolishly wandered in, thinking she could beat her at it. Maybe she was the one caught in a trap.

“Does that sound accurate, Niccochi?” Nozomi asked, her face unreadable and her voice level.

“I dunno.” Nico said, trying to sound as bored as she should be. “Maybe. It’s a little vague.”

“Hmmm.” Nozomi hummed, nodding. “It can be a little vague, especially before all three are placed. Let’s move on.”

She dealt a second card, this time a scene of animals looking up at a night sky dominated by a stylized moon. The image was orientated towards Nozomi instead of Nico this time.

“I think you dealt this upside down.” Nico said, cocking an eyebrow.

“That means it’s reversed, Nico.” Nozomi said patiently. “The moon is a card about dreams, intuition, and the subconscious. However, it’s also a card about secrets, deception, illusion, and confusion. In the present it can mean your life is shadowed by a secret that deeply affects you, or something can be right before your eyes that you’ve been blind to, or misinterpreted.”

Secrets, huh. Nico smiled inwardly. Nozomi was getting more blatant. Perfect.

“Hmph. Everyone has _secrets_ , Nozomi. You’re practically _made_ of them, and you’re in my life.” Nico waved her hand. “So I guess that’s accurate, unless you’re planning to stop ‘shadowing’ me some time soon.”

Nozomi smiled sweetly at her. “But Niccochi, what would you do without me? You’d be so lost.” Nico grumbled and once again wondered how much of Nozomi’s charm was calculated. While she did so, Nozomi was dealing the last card.

It was two naked people glancing up at someone in the clouds.

“This is the lovers. It-”

Nico slammed her hands on the table hard enough that the cards bounced, and Nozomi jumped in surprise. “HA! I knew it! The _lovers_ , Nozomi?! You call that subtle? I _knew_ you were trying to get me to admit I’m in love with you!”

There was a silence.

A look of horror started to creep across Nico’s face as she realized what she’d just said. Apparently Nozomi wasn’t the only one who let her guard down at the point of victory, but Nico had managed to blunder that extra bit harder than Nozomi.

She risked a glance at Nozomi, expecting a fan of cards and a cheshire grin as Nozomi savoured the moment before she pounced.

What she saw instead was Nozomi, red as a beet, looking at Nico with a mixture of hope and disbelief.

“Y-you were in love with _me_?” Nozomi’s voice was unusually tiny.

That… was not what Nozomi was supposed to be saying. Nico had thought she had this whole “reading” figured out- obviously it was rigged, and she’d assumed the past reading was taunting her for pining, the present was referring to Nico’s secret affecting her life, and the future was whatever Nozomi was going to say about lovers before Nico blew the whole game. The gears in Nico’s head started spinning as she reevaluated. If she hadn’t known, then what was she-

Oh.

_Oh._

She was coming on strong not because she was trying to tease Nico about how aware of her she was, but because she was trying to _get_ Nico to be aware of her. The past reading wasn’t raking Nico over the coals, it was trying to gauge if she was looking for a relationship. The present reading was referring to _Nozomi’s_ secret- “something right before your eyes you’ve been blind to.”

Unbelievable. Nico had played herself.

Nico groaned and banged her head on the table.

“God damnit.” she mumbled into the wood. “This the worst confession ever.”

She heard Nozomi giggle. “Hmm, I think I’ve seen worse from fans. You didn’t compare to me a ‘hummer’s bay’, at least.”

Nico glanced up. “Wait, a fan said that to you?”

“I think they meant ‘summer’s day’ and panicked.” Nozomi was trying to act composed, but her face was still bright red and she wasn’t meeting Nico’s eye.

Nico narrowed her eyes at her.

“I know it wasn’t much of a confession, but that doesn’t meant you just get to ignore it.” she challenged, sitting up and grabbing Nozomi’s face in her hands, turning her to face her. “Your feminine wiles have enticed even the great Nico Nii. Will~ you~ go~ out~ with~ me~?”

Nozomi pouted, which was fairly adorable with Nico’s hands squishing her cheeks. “You know, Niccochi, the lovers isn’t _quite_ as literal as you think. It usually represents a choice.” she sighed. “A missing piece, a secret in front of your eyes, and a choice… You’ve managed to escape my fortune telling again, it seems, because that reading appeared to be my own fortune.”

Nico’s eyes narrowed. “...If you don’t give me a straight answer, I swear to god...”

Nozomi’s cheshire grin finally made its appearance.

“Oh, there’s nothing straight about my answer, Niccochi.”


End file.
